President of the United States and NEXO golf tournament correspondence: FOI release

Information requested

Any correspondence (emails, etc) to or from the office of John Swinney relating to the decision to spend £180k on the NEXO golf tournament, between 1 June and 29 July, 2025.

Any correspondence (emails, etc) to/from the office of John Swinney and the United States Government pertaining to President Trump's visit and his meeting with the First Minister, between 1 June and 29 July, 2025.

The full recorded minutes of the meeting between Mr Swinney and Mr Trump on 29 July.

Response

Any correspondence (emails, etc) to or from the office of John Swinney relating the decision to spend £180k on the NEXO golf tournament, between 1 June and 29 July, 2025.

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested. This can be found at Annex A.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b), personal information, of FOISA applies to some of the information you requested because it is personal data of a third party (i.e. names/contact details of individuals), and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

This exemption is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

An exemption under section 30(b)(i), free and frank provision of advice, of FOISA applies to some of the information that you requested. The reason section 30(b) applies to the information requested is because disclosure of information would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemptions. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption.

We recognise that there is some public interest in disclosing information on UK relations as part of open government and transparency. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in protecting free and frank exchange of advice that enables Ministers and officials to conduct business and come to decisions, releasing advice provided would disrupt this process.

An exemption under section 33(1)(b), commercial interests, of FOISA applies to some of the information you requested. The reason section 33(1)(b) applies to the information requested is because disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of any person. “Person” includes a public authority, company and partnership.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemptions. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption.

We recognise that there is some public interest in disclosing information as part of open government and transparency. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring the smooth and safe operation of the commercial interests of Scottish organisations.

Any correspondence (emails, etc) to/from the office of John Swinney and the United States government pertaining to President Trump's visit and his meeting with the First Minister, between 1 June and 29 July, 2025.

While our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you requested.

As President Trump visited Scotland in a chiefly private capacity, there are no formal communications between the First Minister’s office and the United States Government regarding the visit.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

The full recorded minutes of the meeting between Mr Swinney and Mr Trump on 29 July.

I enclose a copy of all of the information you requested. This can be found at Annex B.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202500478041 - Information released - Annex A and B

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